Threaded elements, which are also known as wire thread inserts, are generally known in the prior art. Threaded elements are made of different materials that vary depending on the respective application area. In addition, the threaded elements vary in their shape in order to support different varieties of installation.
There are two typical types of mounting for inserting the threaded element into an opening of a component that does or does not have receiving threads. With the one type of mounting, the helical wire of the threaded element has a driving notch. Using this driving notch, an installation tool drags the threaded element along and screws it into the receiving thread of the opening of the component. Examples of this are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,563,119, 4,645,398 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,303. With the other type of mounting, one end of the threaded element has a diagonally progressing driver pin. The installation tool engages at this driver pin in order to drag the threaded element along and thereby screw it into the threads of the opening. This is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,681, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,363,663. EP 1 897 659 on the other hand, describes a special installation spindle for installing threaded elements.
Threaded elements additionally have smaller windings with respect to their inner diameter which serve as a so-called screw-lock. For this purpose, U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,899 discloses one or more windings, which are formed as hexagons that are displaced radially inward within the threaded element. These screw-locks hold the screwed-in screws by means of a frictional connection, for example, in order to support a preassembled state.
The object of the present invention is to provide a threaded element that due to its design supports and simplifies the installation in a component compared to prior art. Similarly, a corresponding installation method is to be provided for threaded elements that are so designed.